Chandler Naturopathic Health Center uses Dr. Chi’s Method of Fingernail and Tongue analysis as a hands-on physical method to assess the needs of the individual. This method is used in conjunction with the client’s verbal and written self-report and their responses to the information gathered in various questioning exercises.

In Asian countries, tongue diagnoses are the widely accepted form of disease detection. Doctors used to use tongue diagnoses in this country many years ago. In fact, I recall our family doctor using tongue and fingernail diagnostics when I was a child. It had become a lost art until recently. There is now resurgence in the interest and practice of this art by physicians across the nation. Why? Fingernail and tongue analysis is quick, inexpensive, and it accurately reflects the functioning of the body’s organs.

In Chinese medicine, there is a five-system methodology that represents detoxification, circulation (which also includes mental-psychological welfare), the immune and digestive systems, respiratory and lymphatic systems, and the last represents the endocrine, reproductive and excretory systems. The five main organ areas of the body that represent these systems are the liver, heart, spleen, lung, and kidney. Chinese medicine believes (and there is evidence to support) that a problem in one organ area can have an adverse effect upon another (or all others).

By examining the fingernails and the tongue, the problem that the individual is experiencing can be directed to one (or more) of the five different major organ areas of the human system. The fingernails reflect the physical and spiritual condition of the body. Since the nails never finish their cycle of growth, they are an accurate depiction of the person’s physical and systemic information for the past 6-8 months (the length of time it takes for the average adult nail to grow out). Clues to the condition of the body’s systems can be found in the nail shape, color, curvature, markings, ridges and bumps.

Unlike the fingernails, the tongue “regenerates its entire topmost epithelial layer every 3 days”. (Chi, p 5) This allows for the detection of problems immediately. It is the fastest of all other types of physical diagnoses. Because the tongue regenerates so fast and because it is the body’s most visible internal organ, the tongue can be examined quickly to detect any malnutrition or ailment within the body. The tongue serves as an accurate indicator of a person’s wellness.

By combining and comparing the fingernail and tongue analysis, they can work together to produce precise results from both an acute and chronic disease standpoint.